We provide private study programs for beginning to advanced students who require formal instruction. We customize the curriculum according to your needs and experience. (Some students come for a couple days, others for a couple years.)

Private study takes place with Daniel Kelm. Equally adept in traditional and innovative binding, Kelm has extensive teaching experience.

A typical arrangement is to have Daniel spend an hour with you one-on-one at the beginning of the day, and then be available for consultation throughout the day as you work on your project in our well-equipped classroom. When someone is beginning a long course of study, Daniel often spends a great deal of time with them the first couple weeks in order to get them up and running, and then consultation time as needed thereafter. One of the advantages to this program is that you and Daniel make a custom plan for your course of study.

Tuition: up to three weeks, $200 per day; three to eight consecutive weeks, $775 per week; nine consecutive weeks and longer, $550 per week.

if you would like to begin a conversation about creating your custom curriculum.

Some Words on Bookbinding at The Garage Annex School

I have been dreaming about making books since I was in college; however, it was not until after I graduated that I began looking into programs that taught book arts. While searching for programs, I knew that I wanted to design my own education; I wanted the ability to go off on a creative whim but have instruction along the way. When I visited the Garage Annex School for Book Arts, things began to fall into place.

Daniel Kelm, the founder of The Garage Annex School, and my teacher over the past 6 months, is an incredibly knowledgeable, talented, and well known book artist.  Furthermore, on par with his own talent ranks his ability to teach. Sometimes, I would think up obscure structures, or use difficult materials, and Daniel was always able to think of a solution for how to make my ideas work. While working with him, I didn’t feel as if I was simply learning an old and beautiful art, I felt as if I was inventing my own branch of book arts.

Over the course of six months, all under the guidance of Daniel Kelm, I was able to master many styles of binding as well as start my own company: Tree Song Books. The confidence in my artistic abilities that I gained while working at The Garage Annex School will allow me to continue to take risks in my artistic endeavors. Daniel Kelm helped me learn how to harness my strengths, work through my weaknesses, and find a style of bookbinding that is entirely unique. 
—Kyla Allon, Tree Song Books